


Still Into You

by cherrysprite



Series: Chords by Theo [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boy Band, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Can you tell they're in a band yet?, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Getting Back Together, Guitarist Theo, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Lead Singer Liam, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Neck Kissing, POV Theo Raeken, Past Relationship(s), Rough Kissing, Song: Still Into You (Paramore), Songfic, Twitter, because I'm very original, it's called Pack, they had a fling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23451292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysprite/pseuds/cherrysprite
Summary: As well as Theo knows Liam, he somehow hadn't figured out that their band's hit song was about him until he was basically punched in the face with it.Still Into You - Paramore
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Chords by Theo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687057
Comments: 27
Kudos: 201





	Still Into You

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just pretend that "Still Into You" isn't a Paramore song for the sake of the fic, okay? :,)

If there's anything Theo loves more than hitting up the diners in the towns he tours, it's the roar of the crowd in the arenas he plays in. Theo considers his working days his off days, since nothing gets him going more than hitting the strings of his guitar and hearing it pumped throughout arenas for everyone to hear, screaming for it to be more, louder, more intense. It was what he had dreamed of since he and a couple of friends had started their little band in the garage of Mason's parents house, just fucking around with some instruments and broken amps, and it had somehow gotten them there: here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the tenth stop on their second world tour. 

What could he say, people loved Pack. The name that had started as an inside joke - Liam, the lead singer and his best friend's mother equating their behavior to a bunch of hungry wolves - but it was now a household name that anyone could identify. All four of them, Mason, Alec, Liam, and him, had built something up that seemingly could never fall down, not with age, and not with pressure. In fact, pressure only seemed to spur them on. Bad reviews on their second album? Their third was on the Billboard top 100 for weeks. A new rumor? Ten new interviews and press about it, just building the name. It was an art, really, one that had paid off amazingly.

The crowd roared in the Wells Fargo Center as they closed on one of their songs, Liam working the crowd the way he knew best in center stage. Liam was the most popular member in Pack, as being the lead singer often caused, but Theo didn't mind, and not just because he was the second. He liked the energy Liam had, and keeping his self esteem up was a big factor. When they weren't on stage, Theo tried to build his confidence the best he could, and he always loved to see the payoff, Liam thrashing around the stage like he owned it. As Liam threw his head back to get his growing hair out of his face, a huge smile spread across Theo's face as the crowd applauded it. 

He knew that there were people close by in the pit who always had their phones out, recording everything, and that every move he made in relation to Liam was going to get spread around. Theo wasn't stupid; when you were a part of something as big as Pack, there was no way that you didn't know what kind of things people said about you online. The fans loved the four of them equally, but they all had their favorites, and the ones who tended to fall towards Liam and Theo also had a certain pairing they liked the best: Thiam. Everyone said their onstage chemistry was "undeniable" and they were "definitely in love with each other," which Theo only found amusing and entertaining. He liked seeing what fans thought, since only Theo and the rest of Pack knew what really went on. Maybe they had chemistry, and it had showed in their little fling they had a few months back, but there had been no feelings involved besides maybe a little crush on Theo's part.

Liam came over and smiled at him wildly, still full of adrenaline from the crowd, shaking him around. "Theo, everybody!" He said into the mic for no reason at all, and people started screaming even louder, if it was possible. Liam wasn't dumb either. Theo thought sometimes that Liam was even more entertained by their fans' theories and teased them often, liking tweets and posts here and there that completely contradicted each other. Last night, the theory that they were secretly married was trending on twitter because Liam retweeted it and deleted it thirty seconds later. Last week, people had thought that they had matching tattoos, which they didn't, because of a convenient shadow at their last show. That was fueled by Liam commenting with a ";)" which sent people into a frenzy. It was no surprise that Liam came over to him to rile people up even more, give them photo material, so Theo played around and took the mic from him.

"No, no, all you, Li," He said, knowing using the nickname would get a reaction. It got one, both from Liam and from the crowd. 

"Okay, okay," Liam sighed, putting the mic back on the stand. "I think you guys know what time it is."

The opening track of their hit song "Into You" started drifting through the arena, and everyone started jumping up and down. This was the song that had really rocketed them up into attention after their manager had posted it online and gotten a ton of buzz for it back when they were still in college. Three years later, it was still a must-hear at every show they played, and none of the enthusiasm ever died down. It was a life goal for some to hear it played live, and Theo understood why - Liam's voice was powerful over speakers, but it was downright soul-shattering live.

People began to clap along to the beat of the song as it started quickly, Liam's lips close to the mic as he began to sing. The energy in the arena was at its peak, and apparently, so was Liam's. 

Liam had written the song himself, so Theo knew it was one of his favorites to perform, but lately, he had been getting really into it, and tonight was no different. In fact, Theo was pretty sure he had never seen Liam go this hard with it, and he was starting to struggle to keep up with his passion. He was white-knuckling the mic stand and had his eyes shut tight for most of it, really pouring his energy into it, and people couldn't be going more wild. Mason on bass and Alec on keyboard in the back were hyped as well, and everyone was insane by the chorus.

Liam's eyes opened and landed on Theo. "It's not a walk in the park to love each other," He sang, grinning against the mic. "But when our fingers interlock, Can't deny, can't deny, you're worth it..."

Why was he looking at him like that? "Cause after all this time, I'm still into you."

Oh, God. Theo's brain went dead for a minute and he completely forgot the chords to the song, scrambling and making weird noises with the string of his electric guitar as he floundered. A few people in the pit started screaming even louder, obviously having caught that. Was this really-

"I should be over all the butterflies, but I'm into you, I'm into you, and baby, even on our worst nights, I'm into you, I'm into you," Liam was singing into the microphone at full power, eyes turned back towards the crowd or closed altogether, but the image of those blue eyes turned pink from the strobe lights was burned into Theo's brain. "Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'cause I don't really need to wonder at all, yeah, after all this time, I'm still into you."

+++

His ears were still ringing as he got backstage, the one behind the other three as they walked to get water and food. Everyone seemed completely taxed after a big show, all sweaty and letting the last traces of the adrenaline leave them, but Liam, as always, seemed jumpy enough to keep a move on back towards their hotel. He didn't talk to Theo after the show, which was normal enough, but after what had happened back there, he didn't feel right about it. 

He got back to the hotel and took a shower in Alec's shower since Theo and Liam were sharing a room, going quick to see if he could catch Alec and Mason before they wandered off. He got dressed quick and went down to the lobby to see if they were there.

Theo found Mason and Alec huddled by one of the vending machines, trying to avoid being seen, which Theo hadn't even thought of when he had come barreling down the hotel staircase and was now the center of attention. He tried to duck out of the way of people who seemed uncertain about who he was and he signed a few autographs here and there for the people who already knew it was him, but managed to get to the vending machine mostly undetected. "Jesus, Theo, you'd think you would have learned how to chill by now," Alec hissed under his breath, still texting someone on his phone. "I thought you were taking a shower."

"I did," He said, running his hands through his slightly wet hair and flicking them at Alec for being a dick. Theo looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone around before he leaned closer to Alec and Mason, who both raised their eyebrows in interest. "Did you guys notice anything different about the show tonight?" He asked, then looked around one more time before asking even more hushed, "About Liam?"

Mason snorted. "Like what?" He asked, clearly knowing something Mason didn't. Theo rolled his eyes. 

"Like...during Still Into You?" He said with a cringe, hoping he wasn't just being delusional. According to the way Alec smirked at him like he was an idiot, it could go either way. "He seemed really into it tonight."

"It's his favorite song we play, he's always really into it," Alec scoffed, and Theo's hopes started to diminish. He hadn't realized he had been hoping for anything in the first place, but he still wilted a little. "But he has been especially into it lately, and tonight. You just happened to notice it now. Guess he really tried," Alec admitted, and Theo's eyes shot back up to his.

"What?" He breathed. Mason was pretty clearly trying to hold in his laughter, but Alec, being more sarcastic than Mason was, just kept it as a smirk. Theo wondered if Alec had played out this scenario before.

"You really didn't know?" Mason laughed, covering his mouth. "Oh my God. I thought you knew and were just cool with it."

"Cool with...?" He trailed off, not wanting to say it himself. He still felt like they were fucking with him.

"Cool with Liam writing that song about you," Alec said, snarky as ever as he folded his arms across his chest. "Who else would that have been about?"

"I don't know, Hayden?" Theo shot, thinking of Liam's ex, an actress who he had dated for six months and seemed like the type he would write a song about. "He never said he actually _liked_ me, we were just... _you know,"_ He whispered just in case anyone really _was_ around. He could deal with rumors, but he didn't think anyone in the band or on their relatively chill management team would appreciate Theo explicitly talking in the middle of a hotel about how he and Liam had sex. 

"I'm sorry, but you're fucking stupid if you thought that song wasn't about you. Have you really listened to the lyrics? It's all there," Alec said.

Theo stared at them, just blinking as he thought about it. He tried to ignore the rapid increase of his heartbeat as he thought it over, but it was clouding his judgement too much. Alec and Mason seemed set in their ways, but Theo wasn't sure if he could believe it. When they had started their fling, it was unspoken that it was only a casual thing. The band was celebrating their second album's debut, euphoric and slightly tipsy, and one thing had lead to another and Liam had ended up in Theo's bed. They pretended like it didn't happen for awhile, but the law of attraction was a vicious thing, and they kept coming back. It went on for around three months of sneaking around, and although Mason and Alec didn't care when they found out, they still felt bad about doing it and they agreed to stop. Theo may have developed a crush along the way, one that hadn't faded even months after it was over, but Theo was pretty sure that Liam hadn't had any type of feelings toward him. "He really thinks that?" He asked softly, not entirely sure if he said it out loud or not until Mason answered.

" _Yeah_ , dude," He said, this time a lot less condescending than Alec. "For awhile now. You really didn't notice?"

Theo thought it over for a minute, wondering what he was talking about until he stopped and started wondering how he hadn't realized. It was the subtle touches when they were hanging out, Liam always coming over to sit next to him during interviews and when the four of them were all alone. They hung out a lot more, just the two of them, than any of the other band members did, and Liam was always very cuddly. Theo guessed he had just gotten the timing all wrong. He thought that Liam was clingy because he broke up with Hayden not long before they started having sex, and then after their fling was over, they had just bonded or something and it made Liam feel more comfortable with touching him. Theo had been too wrapped up in his own feelings and trying to keep them casual to notice Liam's. Alec and Mason were watching his thoughts unfold with little, amused smirks on their faces. 

"What am I supposed to do now?" Theo asked, thinking back to something he had been worried about for awhile after he started liking Liam. Bands broke up all the time because of the members dating and falling apart, and he didn't want to put Alec and Mason in danger of that happening because he and Liam screwed something up. "What about the band?"

"What about it?" Alec asked like he was stupid. "We'll be fine. You and Liam have dealt with so much already from the time we were in college to now. You might both be idiots, but you're mature enough to handle this."

"You're sure?" Theo asked nervously, his fingers twitching as he looked to Mason.

" _Yes_ ," Mason insisted. "Now, go find Liam. He's gonna be pissed off at breakfast tomorrow if you don't, he really screamed those lyrics tonight for you."

That was all Theo needed. He grinned at Alec and Mason before turning back around and heading towards the stairs, running up, finding it faster than taking the elevator. 

Granted, it had been a lot easier going _down_ than all the way up to the seventh floor, so he was kind of out of breath when he got to their hallway.

+++

Theo would be lying if he said he went right into their room. He stood outside the door for at least ten minutes, trying to gauge if Liam was out of the shower yet and rehearsing. He had no idea what he planned to say when he walked in, since he had never had to be smooth before - they hadn't started their fling sober, and the times in between the beginning and end never required much thought. He went through a few different options, playing each one out in his head. Innocent seemed too weird, and it had a high chance of failing with Liam's oblivious nature. Straight-forward would also be spectacularly embarrassing if he was still somehow wrong, so he didn't like that one either. Ultra sexy dom, no matter how much their fans wanted it to be, just wasn't his style, not when he actually had feelings for Liam, so that wouldn't work either. 

There wasn't a lot more time to think about it, since his phone buzzed in his pocket that Liam had just tweeted. It was a black and white filtered mirror pic, taken in the mirror above the dresser in their room that could only be considered fan service, his shirt off and his hair still damp from the shower. The muscles of his abdomen were all on display as well as his sharp jawline, a slight scowl on his face that Theo knew Liam would never make. It was captioned with the time it was posted, and he already had comments: _"ok but what if theo was in this with you? make it happen"_. Theo wanted to type that he was about to, but his eyes got stuck on something else - the 'T' stitched onto the waistband of the sweatpants Liam was wearing. He'd put it there after Liam kept taking his on accident since they both had a pair of grey ones, and it became an inside joke of theirs, so there was no way he had put on Theo's as an accident. He was doing it on purpose, he _wanted_ him to know. Theo took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and scanned the keycard on the door handle, slipping into the room with a start. Liam was still standing at the dresser parallel to the door, his phone sitting on the surface, and their eyes met through the mirror. Theo swallowed hard when Liam didn't smile, look away, or even blink. Fuck. "That was a really good performance tonight," He lead with, keeping his voice strong. Liam nodded once, but the dim light of their room didn't prevent Theo from seeing the bob of his throat in the mirror as he swallowed. "'Still Into You,' hmm? I kind of forgot you wrote that yourself." He stepped closer to Liam, who didn't break eye contact with him in the mirror. Theo wanted to smirk. He was nothing like the guy in the picture. "You know, come to think of it, I never asked you who that song was about." He was standing behind him now, just a half inch closer and they could touch. The breath of his low voice was hitting Liam's neck and sending goosebumps all over his skin. One corner of Theo's mouth tipped up triumphantly, but he wasn't done. "So I was thinking, after that performance tonight...who that song might be about," He said, dropping his eyes to the 'T' in red thread in his sweatpants. They were too long for him, too loose, hanging on his hips low, and Theo wanted to groan. "I thought, 'maybe Hayden,' but I don't think so. So, the question is, Liam," He whispered, letting his hand slip onto Liam's hip over his sweatpants, his thumb running over the 'T.' "Who would that be about? Who would you be singing that for?"

There was a single, tense second where their eyes met in the mirror, Liam's pupils blown wide with lust and the smirk still on Theo's face, before Liam knocked him back as he turned around in his hold. He threw himself up against Theo's body, arms circling around his neck as he kissed him _hard_ , already moaning and desperate for it. Theo grinned against his mouth, but it was quickly kissed off by Liam's unyielding lips. One of Liam's hands found its way into his hair and tugged roughly, but Theo wasn't in the mood for that tonight - he did the same to Liam and reveled in the way he submitted immediately, his head rolling back as he bared his neck. He couldn't get enough of the loud, uncontrolled noises he pulled from Liam's chest as he bit, kissed, and sucked at the column of his throat. He'd have these marks for _days_ , have to make the choice to cover them or wear them proudly at their concert the next night. The thought was quickly pushed back when Liam braced his hands on Theo's shoulders and jumped, wrapping his legs around his waist with Theo's hands holding each of his thighs.

He walked them blindly to one of the queen sized beds, neither one wanting to detach from each other until they had to when Liam hit the bed. Theo straddled his thighs and ripped his shirt over his head, thanking God Liam was already half naked, and gasped when Liam leaned up to start sucking hickeys onto his chest. "Fair's fair," Liam breathed, but Theo wiped the smugness right off his face when he started to pull Liam's - Theo's - sweatpants off.

Liam rolled them so he was on top of him, Theo sitting up so their hips rolled together maddeningly. Their foreheads rested together and Theo tried to kiss him, but Liam turned his head at the last second. "This- this isn't just sex, is it?" Liam asked him breathlessly, forcing his eyes to focus. "Because I can't pretend that it just is anymore."

Theo shook his head avidly. "It's never just sex," He confirmed before he rolled Liam back onto his back again, and Liam was too lightheaded and happy to fight him on it.

+++

Theo woke up earlier than normal the next morning because Liam was trailing his fingers along his chest. He was sure they made quite a picture - One of Theo's arms behind his head, the other holding Liam around the back while Liam wrapped himself around one side of Theo's body. Theo had never been happier for a morning-after. "'Morning," He said sleepily, blinking a couple times to get used to the natural light of the room. Liam smiled up at him and said nothing, instead pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Theo closed his eyes and breathed deep, content, but he knew there was something else coming. "We should probably talk about this."

"Mmh, not now," Liam hummed, nosing at the crook of Theo's neck and shoulder and inhaling deep there. "Things are good now. Later," He said. Theo nodded, not that he thought for one second that he could disagree with Liam there.

They laid in bed together for a few minutes before Theo's phone buzzed on the bedside table, a Snap from Alec. _Breakfast in an hour then we hit the road. and congratulations ;)_

After shooting back a picture of him rolling his eyes, he went to check his Twitter, which had a bunch of new mentions already. Theo chuckled to himself and Liam shifted so he could see what he was looking at. After a show like last night's, he was sure Liam's Twitter would be blowing up too. "What is it?" Liam mumbled.

"Your performance last night wasn't lost on people," Theo snickered, scrolling through his notifications. He typed his name into the search bar and found the most recent tweets, some of which were only from minutes ago.

_**emma** (@cherrysprite)  
[video attached]  
ok i know we all thought that "still into you" was written about **theo** but now i REALLY think it is bc liam was DEFINITELY feeling some type of way when he sang it last night-_

**Maria's** **seen** **Pack** **:)** _(@alecsbitch4)_  
_Did anyone else catch **Theo** screwing up his chords when Liam hit the chorus last night or am I just tripping-???_

_**Jonny** (@jonnylead)  
I would bet actual money that **Theo** and Liam fucked after that concert after all that tension up there, end tweet_

Theo especially liked the last one. "People definitely noticed," He said, and Liam laughed what was more of a breath than anything against his neck. "Should we screw with 'em a little?" Theo asked. He felt Liam smile against his skin.

"I thought you'd never ask."

+++

_**The Guitar Guy** (@theoraeken)  
Still Into You - Pack_

__

_**Lee** - **yum** (@liamdunbarofficial)  
_ _philly 2020_

__

The replies were instant.

_**Grace,** **aka** **Geace** (@softlilacs)   
replying to @theoraeken  
wait wait wait did I catch a shirt by the window?? The one Liam was wearing last night????_

__**emma** (@cherrysprite)  
replying to @liamdunbarofficial  
those sheets look too ruffled for just sleeping 😳😳😳

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!  
> Second fic in two days! I seem to have gotten my motivation back.  
> I actually really like this concept to be honest, and I have some ideas for sequels/prequels to the story. More about how their fling came to be and what it's like after they get together officially :) I hope you enjoyed! Tell me what you think!
> 
> Comments are always read and appreciated <33


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